15 January - (Juba) - The ten states of southern Sudan will have access to the Southern Sudan Television - SSTV network via satellite by February this year.

Minister of Information Gabriel Changson Chang spoke to Sudan Radio Service about the progress of the plan and said that the equipment needed for the project will be received soon.

[Changson Chang]: “We are going to connect the ten states to the Southern Sudan Television network. First, we are building our satellite earth station in Juba. The dish has already been installed and we are waiting for the equipment to be brought and installed. We have already taken television stations to the ten states and we will also take three stations to Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile this month.”

Once completed, SSTV could be watched on DSTV, Nile Sat and Arab Sat all over Africa, Western Europe, the Middle East, North America and Australia.

The Southern Sudan Television service is expected to be launched in February this year.

Change is coming to the darkness of our land.Electrical and underground cable may follow I hope.

It is really a good move. At least Southerners will have access to see what is happening in the world of 21st century. What I mean is people of S. Sudan will see in the news and TV that development comes from hard work and strong sense of trust.Bye for now.